LETTERS; Nearing the End of a Harsh Campaign

Published: October 14, 2008

Yes, the last time I looked, this was a democracy, with the people choosing their leaders; and yes, a democracy allows for freedom of speech for both the people and their candidates.

What horrifies me is that so many of ''the people'' seem to be allowing the McCain campaign to spew such vicious rhetoric through the mouth of Sarah Palin. What this says to me is that the American people are tacitly condoning this hate speech by not registering outrage.

America is being tested, and I sure hope that its citizens acknowledge the razor-thin veneer of civilization when they enter the voting booth.

Eddie Lew

New York, Oct. 12, 2008

To the Editor:

Re ''Fire the Campaign'' (column, Oct. 13):

William Kristol argues that John McCain should stop ''unveiling gimmicky proposals,'' ''tell the truth,'' show the ''kind of sound judgment and strong leadership,'' the readiness to be commander in chief ''he's shown in his career.''

But the problem with Mr. Kristol's advice is that Mr. McCain's campaign is the very reflection of who he is and who he has been for the last 26 years. Unpredictability and going your own way are the essence of ''maverick-hood.''

Finally, if Mr. McCain isn't able to control his campaign or its message, as Mr. Kristol implies, what kind of commander in chief does that portend?

Bonita Rothman

Staten Island, Oct. 13, 2008

To the Editor:

William Kristol is right on the money in advising John McCain to fire his inept campaign, saying ''McCain needs to make his case, and do so as a serious but cheerful candidate for times that need a serious but upbeat leader.''

At the same time, however, it is critical for Mr. McCain to point out that this election is not about George W. Bush and the past eight years of mistakes, but rather about which candidate the voter trusts to lead the country over the next four years.

Does the country want to elect a man who has shown a total lack of leadership qualities as evidenced by his 130 ''present'' votes on controversial issues as an Illinois state senator, or does the country require an experienced hand at the helm to solve the domestic and foreign policy challenges to get the nation back on track?

That is the case John McCain must make Wednesday night, or he is toast.

Paul Schoenbaum

Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 13, 2008

To the Editor:

One of the main reasons a candidate campaigns for election is to show the people how he or she will govern. Should the McCain campaign take William Kristol's advice, the American people would ask yet again: Who is John McCain?

Is he the man who campaigned a certain way until three weeks before the election, or the man who decided to truly put his country first and behave himself as a last resort, simply because he was losing?

Also, if Mr. McCain were winning with his current campaign of ugly tactics, would Mr. Kristol call on him to fire his advisers and take on a positive, constructive tone? David C. Zweig

All at once, our country has reached the tipping point where demographic, cultural, scientific and economic realities have ''shocked and awed'' our country, leaving the G.O.P. -- and its ''base'' -- behind.

My children, 26 and 28, see racism, sexism and anti-intellectualism as a kind of traditional insanity. They are alarmed by the McCain-Palin campaign's cynical willingness to fan the flames of destructive rage against a modern, thoughtful multiracial American who is likely to win the presidential election.

I think that what we are now witnessing are ''the birth pangs'' of a 21st-century American democracy ... and they aren't pretty. Robert Stern

Backpedaling from his barrage of negativism, John McCain bristled when a less than scholarly woman proudly told the Republican candidate that she doesn't trust Barack Obama because he is an Arab. To assuage her concern, Mr. McCain told her, ''No, ma'am, he's a decent family man, citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.''

Won't that be music to the ears of all the Arab-American voters. John McCain thinks the two are mutually exclusive.

In the vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin framed herself as a Washington outsider, a ''hockey mom,'' just one of us regular folk. ''It's so obvious I'm a Washington outsider,'' she said, ''and not used to the way you guys operate.''

The report from the Alaskan Legislature tells us quite the opposite. In finding that Governor Palin harnessed the power of office to advance a personal vendetta, the report certified her as more than schooled in the ways (the worst) Washington insiders ''operate.''

And who but a political insider would claim in the face of this report to feel ''absolutely vindicated''? Her actions were deemed ''legal,'' but they were also found to violate the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, and in so finding can hardly be heralded as a vindication -- not of character, and certainly not of judgment. Well, at least not by us regular folk -- doggone it! Katharine Jones